Ex-Red Sox player Rocco Baldelli is learning how to coach

Friday

May 19, 2017 at 6:29 PMMay 19, 2017 at 6:36 PM

Tim Britton, Providence Journal

BOSTON – As a player, Rocco Baldelli grew to trust his instincts, to know when he could take the extra base or catch a runner napping.As a coach, he’s had to learn how to hone those instincts in a different way.

Now in his third season as the first-base coach for the Tampa Bay Rays, the 35-year-old Baldelli has found some comfort in the role. He admitted that he had to learn on the fly early on, recalibrating from a player’s mind-set to that of a coach.

“I did have some on-field experience playing, but I obviously never had experience coaching and having a plan and knowing how to attack different people,” he said. “I initially relied on my instincts and what I thought would work, and in some cases it did work and in some cases it didn’t. Again, that’s why in a lot of ways experience is probably the most important thing in helping others and teaching players.

“To say I’ve learned a lot would be a little bit of an understatement. I feel much more comfortable now where I’m at and what I’m doing than I did my first year.”

Baldelli’s learned when to approach a player after a mistake and when to let it go; major leaguers often know their mistakes themselves, he said. He’s picked the brain of third-base coach Charlie Montoyo, who prior to his big-league promotion had managed 18 years in the minors.

When Baldelli joined the field staff in 2015, he was a first-time professional coach for a first-time professional manager in Kevin Cash. Montoyo had never been on a big-league staff. They brought different levels and areas of expertise and learned together.

“It’s a lot easier the third time around than it is the first time around,” said Baldelli. “It’s a lot easier for me to really enjoy what’s going on here because I’m more comfortable with what I’m doing. Initially, I was basically trying to learn on the go as well. It’s not as easy to just settle in and be very comfortable and take everything in. Comfort in the job has made things a lot easier.”

Prior to returning to the field, Baldelli had spent four years as a multi-level talent evaluator for the Rays, a job he thoroughly enjoyed. He said that front-office experience helped prep him for being back in uniform.

“Instead of trying to figure out what we’re doing or what we’re thinking, I do already understand the thought process,” he said. “I can work more on how to apply it and think about more how to apply it than try to figure out what it is we’re doing. By this time, the entire staff here is very familiar with everything that we do. We all have a good working relationship with the front office here.”

Baldelli doesn’t have a clear endpoint in mind. He doesn’t dream of being a manager, the same way he didn’t dream of returning to the field as a coach in the first place. A former star center fielder for Tampa Bay, Baldelli retired at age 29 after a muscular disorder and subsequent injuries ended his playing days.

The Woonsocket, R.I., native played in 62 games for the Red Sox in 2009.

“Since I stopped playing, I really have not had any particular personal goals. I like coming to the field, I like learning,” he said. “I hadn’t thought or seriously considered returning to the field until the opportunity presented itself. This is a great opportunity, and why would I not want to do this right now?

“Playing, my goal was to win a World Series. I didn’t quite reach that, so that’s basically still my goal today.”

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